A Hero's Journal
by Prime Metallix
Summary: CURRENTLY BEING RE-DONE! Blagh. This was embarrassingly poorly-done, and I wasn't even getting anywhere with it. I'm probably gonna re-write this sooner or later, but don't expect me to add anything to this one.
1. Prolouge

DISCLAIMER: Mario, Pokemon, and the related are owned by Nintendo. Star Wars and the related are owned by LucasFilm, LTD. Kingdom Hearts and related are owned by Square Enix. Sonic the Hedgehog and the related are owned by SEGA of America. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS EXEPT MY CHARACTER!!!!!! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!!!!!!!

A Hero's Journal

Prologue

Gazing out at the starlit sky in my backyard, I suddenly heard my father's voice from the house.

"Eric! Time for dinner!"

"Just a minute," I replied.

In truth, all I really wanted to do was stay outside. I loved sitting out by the tree and just think about things like school, what my friends are doing, and sometimes even try to figure out what the clouds look like (I know that makes me seem like I'm nine instead of fifteen, but even I get bored sometimes).

"Eric! Hurry up," my mom added, "Your food's getting cold!"

"Alright! I'm coming!"

I could tell they were already annoyed enough after work; they certainly didn't need my help. I leaped up and rushed to the door.

"Mmm… What smells so good," I asked while tossing my shoes on the mat.

"We're having ravioli tonight," Dad said.

"Yay," I mumbled.

Surprisingly, no comment came from either Mom or Dad.

After dinner, I told them that I was going back outside. Sitting in my usual spot out under the tree, I found myself wondering what it would be like to have superpowers. It was a childish thought, sure, but still interesting. I wondered what I could do with teleporting abilities, or what I would do with the ability to become anything I wanted. I thought back to the Star Wars movie I had watched the night before, and suddenly wanted to be able to use the "Force" like Luke Skywalker.

I have no idea what came into my head at that moment, but I turned to the rocks in the driveway. _Sure, it's crazy, but what the heck, _I thought. I walked over to the drive, picked up a rock, and held it in my hand. I closed my eyes, concentrated on the rock, and…

Nothing. It didn't even budge. No floating above my hand, no breaking into pieces, nothing. _Crap. Well, I can't say I didn't try._

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an extremely tall, mustached man wearing overalls and a purple hat dashed by, almost knocking me down!

"Hey," I called after him, "Watch where you're going!"

"You-a watch it, punk!" As he ran off, he held up his gloved hand and raised a single finger. "Hey!" _Freakishly tall jerk! Next time I see him, I'm gonna…_ I didn't get to finish the thought before someone else crashed into me from behind.

"Oof!" I screamed as I hit the ground, flat on my face.

"Ow… my head… mama mia…" he groaned. I picked myself off the ground to see another mustachioed man, shorter than the man in purple but still taller than I was, laying flat on his face. He, like the other guy, was wearing overalls and a hat, but his hat was green and had an "L" on it.

"Sorry about-a that," he said as he stood up. He paused a moment before adding, "I don't think-a that I've ever seen-a you before. What's-a your name?"

_Why is he talking like that? Is he Italian or something? I didn't know we had any Italian neighbors._ "Uh… my name's Eric Stevenson."

He extended a hand. "Nice to meet-a you, Eric! My name's-a Luigi Mario."

_Huh? Luigi Mario? _I had to strain to keep my jaw from dropping in shock. _Luigi? But he's just a video game character… right?_ "Luigi Mario?"

"That's-a me!" he replied. _Woah!! He really __IS__ Luigi! That's awesome! But if he's Luigi, then that means…_

"LUIGI!!!! Where are-a you Luigi?" Luigi jumped and yelped when he heard his name called. "Luigi! There-a you are!" I turned to the voice and gasped. A short, red hat wearing man was running toward us.

"M-M-Mario?" I stammered as he skidded to a stop in front of Luigi. _I can't believe this! _I thought as they began to talk,_ Mario and Luigi… The Mario Brothers! They're real! _

"Holy crap! Waluigi!" Luigi suddenly blurted, "he's probably half-a-way to the castle by-a now!" Luigi ran off faster than I've ever seen a plumber run in my life. "Luigi! Wait-a for me!" Mario yelled as he ran after him.

"The Mario Bros, Waluigi, 'the castle'?" I thought out loud, What's going on?" For the first time since Waluigi nearly ran me over, I looked around. I was still standing next to a tree, but my house was nowhere to be seen! Instead of the sky being filled with twinkling stars, it was mid-day and the sun was shining.

"What the? Where am I?"

Uh-oh! Looks like Eric has been transported to some new place! But where? How will he get home? And why did Waluigi flick him off? Find out in Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins!


	2. Chapter 1

A Hero's Journal

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins!

_Why do these kinds of things always happen to me, _I thought as I tore through the forest like I was being chased by evil, flying turtles. Which I was. _Why can't it ever be someone else?_

Suddenly, a turtle that was hiding behind a tree stuck out it's foot and made me fall on my face. "Oof!" _Great. Now I'm screwed. Where's Mario when you need him? _

As if that were a command, a powerful jet of water blasted over my head, knocking several koopas away.

"Mario," I cheered as he leaped forward, "Where have you been!?"

"What? No 'thank-a you so much-a Mario'?" he replied sarcastically as the machine on his back (Crap! I can't remember what it's called) blasted some more koopas.

"Sorry," I answered as a koopa charged at me, "but I've been looking everywhere for you!" I threw a punch at the koopa, who retreated into his shell, rewarding me only with pain. "AAAAGHHH!!!"

"Eric!" Mario shot another jet of water at him, shooting him off into the distance.

"Are you alright?"

"Owwwww… yeah… I'm fine…"

"So, why were you-a looking for-a me?"

"Oh, yeah. Uhh…" I told Mario about how I wasn't really from the Mushroom Kingdom, and what happened to put me here.

"WHAT!?!?"

"Sorry I didn't tell you before, but you and Luigi ran off before I could say anything."

"Well, then-a why don't you just-a go home?"

"That's the problem," I cried, "I have no idea how!" Mario paused a moment, and then said, "I got it! Come with-a me to Peach's castle! Maybe some-a-one there can help-a you!"

"Cool!"

"Let's-a go!"

A few hours later, we stood in front of the castle gates. "So this is her castle?"

"Yep. This is it!"

"I wish I lived here…"

"Hm?"

"Never mind. Let's go."

As we approached the gate, a short, mushroom-headed guard stepped in front of us. "Halt! What is your… Oh! Mario! Sorry about that. I didn't recognize you at first! Go on in. The Princess has been expecting you."

"Thanks!" I started to follow him, but the guard wouldn't let me pass. "Hey, Mario! A little help?"

"Don't-a worry guys, he's-a with me."

"Oops! Sorry!"

_No wonder Mario has to keep the Princess safe, _I thought as I walked inside, _Not much security…_

As we walked up to the throne, I heard some guards whispering and looking at me. _Why are they staring at me? I hope my hatch isn't open!_ I quickly glanced down. _Phew… that's not it._

"Hello, Mario! I'm glad to see you again," Princess Peach said with a smile, "And who is this?"

"Uhm… I'm… Eric, your highness," I replied. I'll admit, that wasn't exactly the best way to present myself to a princess, but at least now she knows who I am. I explained my problem to her.

"Oh, dear! I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well," Mario added, "we were-a hoping that there would be some-a-thing in-a the library."

"Well, then why don't you take a look? Toadsworth," she motioned to one of the mushroom-headed people, "would you lead Eric to the library?"

"Of course, your highness," Toadsworth replied, "Right this way, Eric."

I had no idea what I was looking for when I finally got to the library, not that it mattered. It was so huge, it could have been a long time before I could find what I needed. Ironically, the first book I found was exactly what I was looking for.

_**"Long ago, here in the Mushroom Kingdom, a person named John Peters…" **__John Peters? Why does that name sound familiar? _I wondered. I skimmed through the pages, hoping to find more. _**"Each of his decendants would have great powers of their own. Some would have teleportation, others could take any form they chose." **__John Peters… I remember!! He was my great… grandfather… _My jaw dropped as I realized what I had just read.

"MARIO!!!"

"What-a is it, Eric?" Mario said as he rushed in.

"Look at this! John Peters was my great-grandfather… Look at the last part!"

"Hm?" He was quiet for a moment as he read the page. "WHOA!! I don't believe-a this!"

"I wonder what kind of 'great power' I'm supposed to have? Maybe I can teleport home!" I tried to teleport, but it just didn't

work. I sighed. "Well, that didn't work…"

Will Eric ever find his way home? What new powers does he have? Find out Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 2

A Hero's Journal

Chapter 2: A Hero in Training

"Okay…" I said as I sat down on a concrete bench in the courtyard, "lets see… Since I can't teleport, maybe I can use the transformation power?"

"Are-a you ready to try?" Mario asked.

"I guess so… what does the book say?"

"_**To unlock the power of transformation, you must first be aware of what you are becoming and of the powers that it may have. You must also have a perfect mental image of it."**_

"Sounds pretty easy to me."

"_**Most importantly, you MUST be in complete control over your form. If you lose control of a powerful morph, you may never regain self-consciousness". **_

For a moment, I simply stared at the words. Despite my fears, I read on.

"_**If you are still determined to learn, we will start with something simple: a Pikachu."**_

"Huh? A Pikachu?" I looked by the text. A picture of a yellow mouse-like creature with red cheeks and a lightning bolt- shaped tail looked back at me.

"That's a Pikachu, alright. Well, here goes nothing…"

After following the instructions in the book, I looked down at myself. I'm not quite sure what I expected, but I hadn't changed at all. I flipped back through the pages, but nothing came up. I looked up at Mario and said, "I guess I cant do that, either." Mario just shrugged.

Suddenly, I felt something pulling on my tailbone. I turned my head and couldn't believe what I saw. A long, yellow, lightning-shaped tail was sprouting from my rear!

'_What?!? What's happening to me?' _I suddenly felt warmer and itchy all over. When I l looked at my hands, there was yellow fur all over them and down my arms! I felt over the sides of my head and found that my ears had moved to the top of my head and were long and came to a point at the tips. I was becoming a Pikachu!

I tried to imagine what I looked like at that moment: a human sized Pikachu with a t-shirt and jean shorts. Just then, a strange falling sensation came over me as I realized that I was shrinking!

I dashed over to the water fountain and looked at my reflection. I had completely become a Pikachu!

'It worked!! I…I'm a Pikachu,' is what I tried to say, but all that came out was, "Pi pika! Pi pikachu!" My voice had changed too, all that I could say was 'pikachu'. Obviously Mario… or anyone for that matter… wouldn't be able to understand me.

"Eric?!? Are-a you alright?" I nodded, probably the only thing he would be able to understand. "Well… I guess that-a worked," he continued, "Hopefully the book tells-a how you change-a back…"

I looked back over to the book. _**"In order to become yourself again, you must do the same as before, only this time focusing on your original state**__**" **_

_'Seems simple enough,' _I thought as I began to change again.

Suddenly, Toadsworth bursted into the courtyard, just as I finished changing back into my human self.

"MARIO! MARIO! The princess! She's…" Toadsworth was suddenly cut off by a loud explosion.

"That sounded like it came from the throne room!" I exclaimed.

"Mama mia! The Princess!" Mario yelled as he ran off to the throne room.

"Hey! Wait!" I started after him, but another explosion sealed off the exit. "Oh, man! We're trapped!"

"Guhahahaha! Well, that might be bad for you, but I think it's just the opposite for me!"

"Oh dear…" Toadsworth mumbled, "Not him again!"

"Huh? Who…" I looked around everywhere until I saw the silhouette of a strange-looking pod blocking the sun. "No way…" I watched as the pod descended from the sky, and as the giant, turtle-like monster leaped out.

It was Bowser!

Hoooo, boy… this doesn't look good for Eric! What can they do about Bowser without Mario there to stop him?!? Find out in Chapter 3!


	4. Chapter 3

A Hero's Journal

Chapter 3: Fighting Fire with Fire

"Guahahahaha! Is this it," Bowser chuckled, "No Mario? Just a mushroom and some kid? Oh, well…" Bowser suddenly inhaled deeply.

"RUN!" Toadsworth screeched. I ducked behind a heap of rubble just as a massive blast of fire exploded where I had stood.

"Sigh… how pathetic," he mumbled as he launched another fireball. I ducked down just before it hit me. "Gyraaaa! You're really starting to get on my nerves, kid!"

"Well, I guess that makes two of us," I yelled.

"Grrrraaa!" Bowser fired off several more fireballs, which created a smokescreen and allowed me to slip to a new hiding place, where I found Toadsworth.

"This is insane," I whispered, "we'll never get out of here with him blasting fire everywhere!"

"Ohhh… If only Mario were here..." he replied. Just then, I realized that I was still holding… "The book!" I shouted.

"Ah-ha! There you are," Bowser said.

"Uh oh…" Toadsworth glared at me. "Okay… I just need a little time!"

"Right, then… I suppose I'll distract him, then…" he moaned. Toadsworth then jumped out from behind the barricade and shouted to Bowser.

"Hmm? Hey! Get back here!" Bowser shouted as I began to flip through the pages. '_There has to be something powerful enough to beat him!' _I thought, '_Maybe a Legendary Pokemon? No… no… heck no… NO… hello?'_ I had found a picture of a blue dragon-like creature with red crescent-shaped wings. _'A Salemence! Perfect!'_

A few moments later, I began to change. My skin turned scaly and shaded into a deep blue and my chest became white and extremely hard. I felt my neck stretching out as my arms and legs became short and bloated. The tugging feeling returned, only this time it lasted much longer. Finally, I felt something strange in my back, like my spine was being twisted to form… wings.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw my new wings for the first time. I felt ready to soar off into the sky, when…

"Gyhahahaha! Gotcha!" Bowser roared, "You're not getting away th…" Suddenly, an explosion of fire nearly knocked him off his feet. "Whattheheckwasthat?! Oh…" he moaned as he looked up on top of the pile of rubble where I was perched, "Oh crap…"

"Salemence!" I roared as I shot off another blast of fire.

"Ow! Hey! Whoa!" he yelled as he tried to dodge my blasts, running back to his Clown Car, and flew off.

"Good riddance," Toadsworth yelled after him, as I changed back into my human form. "Ah, yes! Good show, master Eric!"

"Uh… thanks," I replied, "Now how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Perhaps you could use your powers?"

"Oh. Good idea," I said as I picked up the book and found a picture of a Machamp, an extremely muscular Pokemon with four arms.

There wasn't much change this time, other than the fact that I had grown an extra pair of arms. My skin had become a dark grey, and I felt stronger than I had ever felt before! I picked up a large block of rubble that was easily twice my size and tossed it aside.

A few minutes later, I had cleared the way through the rubble, changed back into myself, and found Mario and Luigi in the throne room.

"Eric! Good-a to see you're alright," Mario said.

"Thanks," I replied, "But… where's the Princess?

"Bowser took-a her," Luigi moaned.

"Again? Does that guy ever give up?!"

"Not-a likely…" Mario replied, "and if I-a know Bowser, he's taking her-a back to one of his-a castles. He's-a got 'em up all over the place."

"But we-a have no idea which-a one he's in." Luigi pointed out, "Any ideas?"

"Well, don't look at me," I said, "I barely even know my way around, let alone where Bowser is."

"Well, we'd-a better split up and start-a searching around," Mario said, "I'll search the-a Northern areas, and you and-a Luigi can search the-a Southern areas, and…"

"I'll stay here," Toadsworth said.

"Okay… well then, let's-a go!"

"Right behind you!"

"Oh, man," Luigi moaned. "Here we go again!"

Looks like Eric and Luigi are off to search for Bowser and Princess Peach! Where is he hiding? I have no idea… Find out in Chapter 4!


	5. Chapter 4

A Hero's Journal

Chapter 4: The Plot

"Mama mia!"

"Hang on Luigi!" I shouted, tossing a Koopa shell at the ones chasing him.

"T-thanks…" Luigi said sheepishly.

"You really need to be more careful, Luigi," I said.

"Hm. Hey! What's-a that?" I looked over and found a strange-looking watch with an exceptionally large digital screen.

"Maybe one of the Koopas dropped it," I said, putting it on.

Suddenly, the screen began to flash and show pictures of different places. I saw pictures of what looked like Angel Island from the Sonic the Hedgehog games, one of Traverse Town from Kingdom Hearts, and a large island with several uniquely shaped buildings. And then…

"Bowser's Castle?" As soon as I said that, the pictures stopped, and on the screen was the picture that I had seen of the castle. Suddenly, the screen grew blindingly bright.

When I opened my eyes, we stood before the massive fortress that was depicted in the picture: Bowser's Castle. Luigi looked around and said, "What… just happened?"

"I don't know… It might have been this?" I pointed to the watch.

"Well, we're here now…" He looked back to the castle and gulped.

"Uhm… You first."

"ME?! You've-a gotta be kidding!"

"I'm not going in there!"

"Well, I'm not the one with the superpowers!"

"Alright, alright!"

Later, as we walked through the dark corridors of Bowser's immense castle, I noticed something wasn't right. Looking around, I saw no security whatsoever. No Koopa guards, no cameras, no spinning chains of fire.

"This-a p-place seems deserted-a," Luigi said. He was shaking like a leaf in a storm, Polturgust in hand. "M-maybe we should-a g-go."

"Not until we find Bowser." I said, " Come on, Mario's counting on us!"

At the end of the hallway was a large red door guarded by two armored Koopas. "I'll bet that's where Bowser is."

"Well, we tried-a. Lets-a get out of here."

"Oh, no you don't!" I grabbed the strap on Luigi's overalls and pulled him back­­­­. "Now… how do we get in?"

"There's an air vent over there-a," he noted.

"But it's on the other side of the hallway! How are we going to distract the guards?"

Suddenly, a squeaking voice behind us made me jump, "Hi! I'm a Bob-omb Buddy! And I... Mmf!"

"Ssh! We're hiding!"

The Buddy, even with his lack of arms, managed to pull away. "From who? The guards?"

"Yes. Now go away."

"I can help!" he said, and ran out into the hall.

"No! Wait!"

"Hey, guys! Over here!" he shouted.

The guards shouted something and ran after him. We waited until they were out of earshot and then made our way to the air vent. The cage over the vent was old and rusted, so Luigi's Thunderhand easily broke through it.

The inside of the vent wasn't much better. There were cobwebs everywhere, and it was extremely dark. _This always seemed fun in the movies,_ I thought.

We found another opening in the vent, and I began to hear voices from below. Looking down into the room below, I saw Bowser speaking with a man with white hair and a dark cloak.

"Who's that?" I whispered.

"I don't-a know," Luigi said, "I've-a never seen him before." We listened to the conversation being carried out below.

"So then, my troops will fall in first, right?" Bowser said.

"Yes, your majesty. The Egg Fleet will provide air support, and my troops will fall in with yours, doctor."

"The Egg Fleet?" It was at that point that I noticed another man standing off to the side. He was tall, bald, and… large, and had a long moustache that made Mario's look like peach fuzz. He wore a red, tailed trenchcoat, gloves, and black, rubbery-looking pants. Dark blue glasses hid his eyes, and a pair of metallic goggles clung to the top of his head.

He stepped forward and spoke to the black-cloaked man in a demanding voice. "What's in it for US, then? When you recruited the military of the Eggman Empire, you specifically said that I would be greatly rewarded!"

"Oh no…" I said under my breath, "It can't be… him?"

"What? Who is that?" Luigi asked, "Eric?"

"It's Dr. Eggman."

"Who? I've never heard of him," he said.

"Patience, Doctor. You will receive your 'reward' soon enough," said the cloaked man.

Eggman grumbled something, then said, "Well, I'm not known for my patience."

Bowser glared at him, the spoke again. "Why is the Mushroom Kingdom so important as to take it first? Why not Wumpa Island or something more vulnerable?"

"Because, Bowser, the Seven Princesses must be collected in a certain order, or the gateway will not open. Your Princess Peach is the first of the seven."

"Seven… Princesses?" I said. I thought for a moment. _Where have I heard that before…_

"Let me ask you this, Ansem." Eggman said suddenly, "Why exactly do you need our forces alongside you? You have plenty of Heartless, they outnumber anything that could stand in your way as it is!"

"Heartless?" I said, "Oh, no…"

"Eric? What's going on here?" Luigi said.

"This is not good… Come on, we have to get back to the castle."

The Heartless? Dr. Eggman? In the Mushroom Kingdom? What in the world is going on?


	6. Chapter 5

A Hero's Journal

A Hero's Journal

Chapter 5: Kingdom Under Siege – part 1

The Mushroom Castle was about to be attacked. The combined forces of the Heartless, the Koopa Clan, and the Eggman Empire had advanced through the kingdom like wildfire, destroying everything in their path.

On our side was a much smaller force, but a very capable one. Mario had gone off to rally the Yoshis, and we had enlisted Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and the Wario Bros to help. The royal guard, or what was left of it at least, also volunteered. I had morphed into a Groudon, a tall lizard-like Pokemon with control over fire and earth.

Suddenly, a massive grey airship rose over the horizon.

The Egg Fleet roared into view, led by its flagship, the Egg Whale.

Then, we saw the army.

There were dozens, possibly hundreds of Eggpawns, Koopas, Goombas, and Airpawns. The Koopas and Eggpawns were being led in squads of ten, the Koopas led by a Hammer Bro, and the 'Pawns by silver Commpawns with shields and spears.

"Mama… I hope-a Mario shows up soon," Luigi said, "or we're done for-a!"

The one thing that I noticed was that there were no Heartless among them. _They're probably saving them for later, when we're exhausted._

Soon, there was pure chaos everywhere you looked. Wario and Waluigi were hurling Bob-ombs into the squads. Diddy Kong was flying around with his jetpack and popguns, while Donkey Kong crushed everything in sight with his massive fists. Luigi had gotten a hold of one of the Eggpawn's guns and was trying to get it to work. I was blasting entire squads with white-hot fire. For a while, it seemed as if we were winning!

Just then, something jumped on my back and forced me to the ground. As I stood up, I saw a chameleon-like creature about the same size as Groudon with a large yellow horn on its head. It turned to face me, and I saw the Heartless insignia on its chest.

Suddenly, Shadows, Darkballs, Soldiers, and Guardians began appearing around the battlefield. Dragon-like Wyverns swooped down to join the fight, and massive Large Bodies dropped from above, crushing anything below them in a body slam.

The Heartless had finally joined the battle!


End file.
